Goggins believes suffering is not optional – it’s necessary. It’s the path to discipline, strength, and self-mastery. He doesn’t suffer because he’s a masochist. He suffers because it sharpens him.When you choose to suffer voluntarily, you’re taking control. You’re proving to yourself that pain won’t break you – it will build you. The more you suffer with purpose, the less life can hurt you. You become unbreakable.

Suffering is the Path

When things got dark – like during ultra-races or Navy SEAL Hell Week – Goggins reached into what he called the Cookie Jar: memories of everything he’d already overcome. It reminded him who he was and gave him the strength to keep going.Your “cookies” are your past wins: battles you’ve fought, pain you’ve survived, obstacles you’ve crushed. Build your cookie jar. And when life hits hard, reach in and remember – you’ve been through worse, and you made it.

The Cookie Jar

Goggins had a brutally abusive childhood, faced racism, poverty, and learning disabilities – but he made one powerful decision: he took ownership. He refused to be a victim, even when he had every excuse to be one.You can’t control where you come from – but you can control what you do next. Blame is easy. Ownership is hard, but it’s also where your power begins. Whatever your past looks like, own it and use it as fuel to build something greater.

Own Your Past

Each night, Goggins looked in the mirror and faced himself. He called it the Accountability Mirror. He wrote down brutally honest notes about who he was and who he needed to become. No sugarcoating. No BS. Just raw truth.Want to change your life? Start with honest self-reflection. What are your weaknesses? What lies are you telling yourself? What’s holding you back? The mirror doesn’t lie. And if you use it right, it becomes your greatest weapon.

The Accountability Mirror

Most people spend their lives avoiding discomfort. Goggins does the opposite: he runs toward it. Why? Because pain is the teacher. Every great achievement comes with suffering. You don’t grow when things are easy – you grow when they suck.Learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable. When your body hurts, your mind complains, or life feels unbearable – stay in it. That’s where the transformation happens. There’s freedom in embracing the suck.

Embrace the Suck

When you think you’re done–when you’re exhausted, broken, ready to quit–you’re only at 40% of your true potential. The mind is designed to protect you from pain by telling you to stop long before you’ve reached your limit.Goggins learned this through SEAL training, ultra-marathons, and suffering. When that voice tells you to quit, recognize it for what it is: a test. If you push past that voice, you’ll unlock abilities you never knew you had. That’s where your true self lives.

The 40% Rule

David Goggins says you must “callous your mind” the same way you get calluses on your hands – through repetition, friction, and discomfort. Every time you face hardship and push through it, your mind grows stronger. Instead of running from pain, lean into it and let it toughen you up.Your mind, like your body, adapts. Start doing hard things on purpose: cold showers, long runs, tough conversations, waking up early – anything that makes you mentally tougher. Discomfort is the training ground for strength.

Callous Your Mind

It’s not enough to just be better than average. Goggins says to aim higher: be the best among the best. Outwork the elite. Push beyond the ceiling that even high performers set for themselves.Most people stop when they’re ahead. Goggins keeps going. In a world of mediocrity, even excellence is rare. But greatness? That’s for those who refuse to settle, even when they’re already winning. Be uncommon – even amongst the uncommon.

Be Uncommon Amongst the Uncommon

This is Goggins’ ultimate mantra. It means: Stay ready. Stay disciplined. Stay sharp. Life will throw pain, chaos, and setbacks your way – that’s guaranteed. The question is: Will you break, or will you harden?“Staying hard” isn’t about being angry or emotionless – it’s about refusing to quit when things get tough. It’s about being relentless in your pursuit of growth. So when life hits, you don’t crumble. You rise. Stay hard.

Stay Hard

The real war isn’t against others. It’s against the weaker version of yourself – the one who skips workouts, procrastinates, makes excuses, and settles for “good enough.” That’s your enemy. Every. Single. Day.You don’t need motivation – you need discipline. And you need to get aggressive about holding yourself accountable. Ask yourself daily: Which version of me is winning right now? Because the only competition that matters is the one in the mirror.

It’s You vs. You

New York Times Bestseller Over 2.5 million copies sold For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America. In this curse-word-free edition of Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

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David Goggins is an American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL member who served in the Iraq War.

The Accountability Mirror

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